Literacy in Kindergarten

If you take a close look at the Kindergarten academic standards for your state and district curriculum goals, you will quickly realize the increased level of difficulty in many Kindergarten programs.  The area of literacy seems to be the most affected. How do early childhood educators meet the tougher demands on Kindergarten students and still provide an atmosphere that is developmentally appropriate?  While teaching Kindergarten and EDK, I, like many other educators, chose to meet the demand by incorporating the following in the classroom.  Many of the activities can be found in the Building Blocks framework for Kindergarten by Hall and Cunningham and Kidwriting by Feldgus and Cardonick.  The necessary skills are taught in context in a balanced literacy approach of ...

Reading to children
Reading with children
Reading by children

Writing for children
Writing with children
Writing by children

 I believe literacy lessons should be hands on, engaging, and meaningful for students!  Check out the literacy resource links above to see how this can be accomplished!

Additional Resources 

Kid Writing:  A Systematic Approach to Phonics, Journals, and Writing Workshops by Eileen Feldgus and Isabell Cardonick

Month by Month Reading and Writing for Kindergarten (also known as Building Blocks) by Dorothy Hall and Patricia Cunningham

Getting the Most Out of Morning Messages and Other Shared Writing Lessons by Payne and Schulman)

I Can Read!  I Can Write!: Creating a Print Rich Environment by Beeler